A SADDLEWORTH shop is officially in the hands of the village it stands in – thanks to the couple who ran it previously.
And do not expect Brian Hodgkinson to vanish from the counter in Dobcross completely – he will still be doing the odd shift at the age of 81.
He and wife Andjelika signalled their intention to retire, leading to an effort from locals to take it on.
Now the Dobcross Village Store is being run as a community co-operative, with Tim Newbold, Michelle Dady-Hegg and Pat Ashton running it, hopes are high it will be a success.
Brian, who ran the shop and Post Office for five years, said: “Feelings would be different if we were selling it to someone coming into the village.
“But the fact everyone on the committee is well known, especially people like Tim, softens the blow a bit.
“People showed interest after we made it known we were looking to sell the shop but when the looked at the financial aspect, they couldn’t make it pay.
“The next step then would have been to put it in the hands of an agent. We wanted to keep it within the community, so it’s turned out that way and hopefully it’ll go from strength to strength.
“And with the situation in Saddleworth, the nearest bank is in Oldham, a lot of older people in the village don’t want to make that trip on a regular basis. You’ll also have some who can’t.
“We couldn’t deny the fact age was against us. I thought, ‘It’s definitely time to pack it in.’ So reluctantly, we gave notice to the Post Office.
“Officially, we should have finished in August but around that time, the idea was forming among the community of making it a community-run shop.
“We didn’t expect it to be quite so slow, but I’ve never been a quitter. I thought, ‘This is our baby. I’m not going to let it dwindle and die.’
“So, we’re incredibly grateful the community rallied around and finally has it.!
The Dobcross community showed its appreciation for the service and help Brian and Andjelika gave by presenting them with a hamper.
Now it is being run by Dobcross Village Society Ltd, with Nathan Beckwith as its chair, thoughts are turning to staffing.
And they have a volunteer, who met his wife while working in what was Yugoslavia, ready to work living just above the Woods Lane premises.
Brian added: “The fact Tim and Michelle will continue working here will ease the transition and I’ll in future just be hanging around working as a volunteer.
“We live upstairs and I’ll probably just pop down in the afternoon, have a brew and a chat. I’ll do the odd shift too – although someone joked I didn’t have enough experience!
“I’d like to do Saturday mornings because it’s almost like a social event really and the fact it’ll be used as a community space too is great.
“We often do more turnover in half a day than we would in any of the full weekdays.
“And Dobcross needs that community spirit. I was brought up here and Andjelika came in 1973, she’s been here longer than was ever in Serbia!”
One thing is, hopefully, certain. The new people in charge will not have to negotiate lockdowns and a pandemic, like Brian and Andjelika did.
But even at the height of Covid-19, community spirit shone through.
He recalled to Saddleworth Independent: “I took it on five years ago after the tenant we had in the shop decided she couldn’t make it pay – I was already 76-years-old and I like a bit of a challenge.
“It was actually empty for 18 months and we said, ‘What are we going to do with it, we’ve got this empty space.’
“We actually had Tim as our first assistant and everything was just ticking over, then Covid-19 happened.
“The idea was my wife and I would run the shop together but both being in our 70s, we were part of the vulnerable group that was supposed to shield.
“So, the options were shut down or employ more staff and during that period, the turnover just shot up, it doubled.
“Everyone was baking and we had deliveries of fresh eggs and milk from a local farm, so often we had things the supermarkets didn’t.
“You’d come here in the morning and find people queuing up the road – at the required two metres separation!”
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